Investigation of conductive polyaniline/graphene nanocomposites synthesised through in-situ emulsion polymerization

In this study, highly conductive doped polyaniline nanoparticles and polyaniline/graphene nanocomposites were synthesized with chemical oxidation of aniline via in-situ emulsion polymerization method. Graphene nanosheets were also prepared via modified Hummer’s method followed by chemical reduction using hydrazine monohydrate. The TEM image showed that the monolayer graphene sheets had been successfully produced by this approach. Electrical conductivity measurements revealed that conductive binary-doped emeraldine salt polyaniline had been successfully produced via this method. The results also showed that incorporation of less than 1 wt.% graphene nanosheets into polymeric matrix had improved electrical conductivity of polyaniline up to 10 S.cm-1.The SEM micrographs illustrated that the synthesized polyaniline had spherical morphology with particle size of 25-40 nm.